THE CAUCASIAN CHALK CIRCLE Gets the John Doyle Treatment at A.C.T.

American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) brings Bertolt Brecht's masterpiece The Caucasian Chalk Circle to the Bay Area in a fresh take from Tony Award-winning director and designer John Doyle (Company on Broadway, Sweeney Todd on Broadway and at A.C.T.), whose work has been hailed by critics as "ferociously inventive" (The New York Times) and "gleefully irreverent and bracingly modern" (The Times, London). This world premiere production of a new translation by A.C.T. Associate Artist Domenique Lozano marks the return of modern theater master Brecht's work to A.C.T. after the successes of The Threepenny Opera in 1999 and Happy End in 2006. The play follows the story of a servant girl who saves the life of an abandoned baby boy in wartime. When the wealthy mother returns to claim him, however, their fates lie in the hands of a wily, unpredictable judge whose concern for the poor is rivaled only by his concern for saving his own hide. Featuring Doyle's signature theatricality, A.C.T.'s Caucasian Chalk Circle soars with humor, romance, and unexpected plot twists.

The production features a new score by acclaimed San Francisco composer Nathaniel Stookey (The Composer Is Dead and upcoming Junkestra with the San Francisco Symphony). As with Stookey's earlier work, the score incorporates objects scavenged from the San Francisco Dump alongside more conventional instruments and voices. And as in Doyle's extraordinary rethinking of Sweeney Todd, the entire score is performed by the cast. The Caucasian Chalk Circle plays February 18-March 14, 2010, at the American Conservatory Theater (415 Geary Street, San Francisco). Opening night is Wednesday, February 24, 2010, at 8 p.m. Tickets-starting at $10-are available by calling A.C.T. Ticket Services at 415.749.2228 or at www.act-sf.org.

"I am very excited to be doing this very special new translation of this wonderful play for A.C.T. I enjoyed my visit to San Francisco for Sweeney Todd and hoped to return," says Doyle, who has decided to create the ensemble of The Caucasian Chalk Circle exclusively from A.C.T. core acting company members, A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program students, and graduates. "I am always attracted to venues that have resident companies, very much an ethos I grew up with in the U.K. I was interested in doing this production with the company members and with graduating students, as such ways of working make me feel very ‘at home.' I have so enjoyed collaborating with Domenique Lozano on her translation, and again it has been special to work with an artist who belongs to the organization."

Lozano, whose work at A.C.T. includes directing A Christmas Carol for the last four seasons and numerous productions for the A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program, where she also teaches, has received special permission from the Brecht estate to create this new translation. She speaks to the challenge of setting Brecht's language to English: "The Caucasian Chalk Circle is filled with characters that have dirt under their fingernails, people who are scrambling to survive. Brecht's language matches that-it's German of the people, not in verse, not fancy. There isn't time for that. The language is a direct pulse, right through the heart of things. The play reads so easily and lightly in the original language; that's what I am trying to accomplish in the translation." Lozano adds about being an associate artist at A.C.T.: "A.C.T. is an institution that values artists and their contributions and gives you the chance to expand your strengths. I am so grateful to Carey and John Doyle for giving me this opportunity."

Stookey, a San Francisco composer who has received considerable national attention, is composing the score for this production. Stookey speaks to working with Doyle on this collaboration: "John Doyle is often described as ‘an actor's director,' but he also made lots of friends in the music world with his extraordinary rethinking of Sweeney Todd. That's because of the way the music was incorporated into the fabric of the drama, something you just can't do with a pit orchestra. I had never expected to write music for theater, but I would follow John anywhere!"

The production stays true to Brecht's style, doing away with theatrical artifice and inviting the audience to become active participants in the telling of the story. Doyle sets his production in an abandoned, dilapidated theater in a war-torn environment. The nine performers, all playing multiple roles, transform the space, finding costumes, script pages, and objects to create the play. The visual look of the piece is inspired by a series of photos from wars of the last century, with the costumes evoking a wide variety of time periods and locales, from the Spanish Civil War to the Vietnam War to the war in Iraq. In this eclectic atmosphere, the nine performers will have a life and story unto themselves, along with the characters they play in service of the story. Doyle, who is no stranger to working in this style, quips: "It has often been said that my working style is ‘Brechtian'-never by me, I might add. I am interested in communicating the story simply and directly as Brecht has, and hopefully with something of his sense of ‘theater.' Brecht said to his audience, ‘Imagine,' and that's what we are asking our audience to do. It is this unlocking of the imagination that gets humans through dark times of violence and war. In this way, the production will not be about a remote place. It will be about what is fair, what is law, and what is true."
Artistic Director Carey Perloff is excited to share yet another Brecht masterpiece with the A.C.T. audience, especially as conceived by a master artist such as Doyle: "After having such an amazing experience with Sweeney Todd, John Doyle was eager to return to A.C.T., and I was thrilled about the opportunity to have this inventive and imaginative artist and great collaborator back in our midst. Brecht has long been a favorite of A.C.T. audiences, who came in record numbers to see both The Threepenny Opera and Happy End as reimagined by our core acting company. Doyle's passion for this wartime story of injustice and hope brings a contemporary immediacy to The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and I think this will be a revelatory and moving production."
A.C.T. offers numerous InterACT events in association with The Caucasian Chalk Circle that allow patrons to get closer to the action and save big while making a whole night of their evening at the theater:

• 10UP: World-Class Theater at Happy Hour Prices: Thu., Feb. 18, through Sun., Feb. 28

Get in on 10UP and enjoy the Bay Area's best theater at only $10 a ticket for our second-balcony seats. Bar opens one hour before curtain time-sip discount specialty cocktails, beer, and wine, and then enjoy world-class entertainment in one of the most beautiful theaters in the world. It's theater, only different. Cheers.

• Audience Prologue Featuring Director John Doyle: Tue., Feb. 23, at 5:30 p.m.

Get inside the artistic process. Join us for this half-hour discussion with the director introducing the production. FREE and open to the public (no tickets required).

• Bring What You Can/Pay What You Wish: Thu., Feb. 25, at 8 p.m.

Pay any amount for your tickets when you bring a donation of nonperishable food donations to the San Francisco Food Bank (sffoodbank.org). Patrons are limited to two tickets per donated item, two tickets per person. Tickets go on sale at 6 p.m. the day of the performance. Sponsored by Bank of the West.

• Audience Exchanges: Tue., Mar. 2, at 7 p.m. / Sun., Mar. 7, at 2 p.m. /
Wed., Mar. 10, at 2 p.m.

Join us for lively Q&A sessions with the actors and A.C.T. artistic staff members after these performances.

• OUT with A.C.T.: Wed., Mar. 3, at 8 p.m.

A dynamic series for LGBT theater lovers that includes a catered afterparty with complimentary wine and desserts and a cast meet and greet. Visit www.act-sf.org/out for more information about how to subscribe to OUT nights.

• Bike to the Theater Night: Thu., Mar. 4, at 8 p.m.

A greener alternative to theater transportation. San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) offers free valet bike parking for all patrons who cycle to the theater for this performance. Valet bike parking is available one hour prior to showtime. Bicycles will be attended throughout the evening. Please bring your own lock.

The creative team of A.C.T.'s production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle also includes Jane Cox (lighting designer). A.C.T.'s production of The Caucasian Chalk Circle is made possible by executive producers Mrs. Albert J. Moorman and Ms. Toni Rembe and Mr. Arthur Rock; producers Janet and Lloyd Cluff, Daniel E. Cohn, Natasha and Lincoln Evans-Beauchamp, Rose Hagan and Mark Lemley, Jeanne and Kent Harvey, and Doug Tilden; and associate producers Valerie Charlton Char and Devron Char and Randy Solomon and Joe Mallet. A.C.T. would also like to acknowledge company sponsors Priscilla and Keith Geeslin, Nancy Livingston and Fred Levin, The Shenson Foundation, Burt and Deedee McMurtry, Kathleen Scutchfield, Mr. and Mrs. Steven L. Swig; Jeff and Laurie Ubben, and Susan Van Wagner. Major support for A.C.T.'s core acting company and Master of Fine Arts Program has been provided by Jewels of Charity, Inc.

Photo credit: David Allen Studio

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